


A World So Cold

by FantasistFuturist



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Angst, Evil, I had feels, Loki and his minions, Other, References to Suicide, dont hate me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 13:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/723745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasistFuturist/pseuds/FantasistFuturist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes there isn't a way out. Sometimes your friends don't come on time. Sometimes the pain is too much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A World So Cold

A bright flash interrupted some sort of argument between Jarvis and his creator. Something along the lines of Jarvis, once again reprimanding Tony for his self destructive behavior. And let’s be honest here, it didn’t take a genius computer to figure that one out. Okay back to the flash. It was just like a camera flash, eyes blinded for a second. No. It was more than that. It was actually really bright, and it lingered for a few moments before revealing the silhouette of a tall figure. After a flash like that your eyes don’t go back to normal so it was hard for Tony to make out who it was. It wasn’t even his eyes at this point, it was his mind. What in holy hell happened?

“Jarvis, what’s happening?”

That’s when everything started spiraling downward. That’s when a dark cackle broke the prolonged silence after Tony’s brief question. He had heard that cackle before, that evil laugh. He had heard it somewhere in between the time he gave his nice little speech on how ‘the earth’s mightiest heroes’ would avenge the earth and the moment where he was thrown out the window. “Who let you out of your cage?” Tony spat the words out. And there it was again. A cackle. “I’m flattered that you recognize me with a mere laugh.” And we all know Tony wasn’t the person to back down, so being the cocky ass that he was he walked towards the taller figure. Finally after a few seconds or minutes (it was hard to tell then), his eyes adjusted and he saw his face. 

“You know you have that distinct nasal thing about your laugh.” Tony said as he stood face to face with the banished god. “You dare mock me mortal?” “Oh…Don’t even give me that crap. The whole mortal thing, because just in case you didn’t realize I fucking killed all your alien buddies.” Tony Stark had that distinct quality of getting under your skin, of just wanting to punch him in the face but restraining yourself because he’s Tony Stark.

Loki, at that moment lost his temper, or maybe he had it in for Tony because he kneed the billionaire in the stomach so hard that you could hear a brief cracking sound of bone. Tony let out a grunt of pain as he fell to the floor, his arms clutching his aching mid section. “A mortal wouldn’t have been that injured with a mere hit of mine.” His face displayed a sneer as he leaned over the man on the floor. “You humans believe you’re the best. You aren’t..” Tony struggled to sit up, his jaw clenched as he finally managed. “What do you want?” “You.” Loki said with the sneer still plastered on his face. “Me?” “Yes you. You seem like the only person capable of building a portal for my friend.” “And what makes you think I will do anything for your ass?” “I have my ways of persuasion…or what was it you told me? Threaten. Yes, I’m here to threaten you.” Stark then at that moment scoffed, and tried to stand up. Keyword tried. Loki’s foot was on him as soon as he moved, breaking the previously cracked ribs, making Tony yell.

While this fiasco was going on down in the lab, Jarvis had taken the liberty to assess the situation as HD; highly dangerous. It would have helped it he had come to this conclusion sooner, not the moment Loki was crushing Tony’s ribcage. “Doctor Banner, I believe there is an emergency down in the lab.” “What dangerous chemical did Tony spill now?” He said as he put down the book he was reading, because he insisted that paper and ink were better than reading of a tablet. “No dangerous chemicals Sir. But I do believe an unwanted visitor dropped by.” Bruce swallowed as he stood up, his mind racing trying to figure out who it was. Loki hadn’t crossed his mind because well, Thor had imprisoned or so he thought, or so everyone thought. “Is Tony in danger? Jarvis! Who is it?” “I believe is Thor’s brother, Loki.” “Crap. Crap. Crap.” The doctor rushed down the stairs, because in his head it seemed faster than waiting for the elevator.

“Hmmm…petty human. You shall do what I want.” He grabbed Stark by his jaw and neck, lifting him. “You shall build that portal.” And to this Tony managed to reply, “Th-that’s not..a threat…it’s a d-demand.”

The door burst open to reveal a worried Doctor Banner. “Loki? Loki! Let go of Tony!” “Well if it isn’t the monster.” “Br-bruce go. I’m f-fine.” Bruce shook his head and started approaching Loki and the struggling Tony. There was that green glint in his eyes. The other guy was rumbling underneath his skin, ready to get out. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you Banner.” The banished god’s hand squeezed tighter around Tony’s throat, causing the genius to gurgle unintelligible words. “Tony!” Banner fell to the ground, the other guy clawing its way to the surface. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Bad choice.” With another bright flash Loki and Tony were gone, leaving the infuriated beast charging into nothing. 

They landed roughly, well at least Tony did. Loki stood over the panting Tony, who was down on the floor, massaging his assaulted neck. “Enough of this. You shall get started on the portal.”

~ . ~

Tony refused over and over again, not caring what the near future had in store for him. He was cold; in this ice prison they had him in, so cold. The days went by agonizingly slow. It almost seemed like it had been a month, but that’s what pain does, it distorts everything. It distorts time.  
The first day in this foreign world they threw him in some sort of ice prison. Soon soft grunts and gasps resonated off the clear, ice walls. It was so cold. At least the cold numbed some of the pain of his crushed ribs. 

The next day was pure suffering. 

They took him to another room. It was just as cold as the previous one, except this time they strapped him to a table. Soon yells of agony, yells of sheer pain, pain he had never gone through reverberated through the room. It’s one thing to get burned with fire, but with ice, it’s much worse. You can feel the warm blood under your skin stop flowing, the skin that was once flexible start to harden and peel off. They would laugh as he squirmed; trying to free himself, but slowly his strength was fading. During all this they would repeat the same demand, “Build us the portal.” And Tony would repeat the same answer through gritted teeth, “No!” He would shut his eyes tight, trying to block out all the pain, trying to remember Pepper, Bruce, Steve…all the stupid arguments he would have with Jarvis. 

In his mind it was better to die than be the cause to another disaster back on earth. He didn’t, he couldn’t be the cause of more innocent lives. They wouldn’t understand though. These aliens, these outsiders, they were consumed by greed, by evil. Or maybe it was just blood thirst. They just wanted to get what they wanted: a portal back to earth. They had become so much stronger now, so much more organized, and so much more dangerous.

He wasn’t afraid anymore. Not after all this. He had faced death many times before and laughed in its face, this time it was death's turn to laugh. If this was the way he had to go, he accepted it. All that mattered to him was the safety of his friends and the safety of Earth. He could hear the voice of Pepper telling him to just build it, that the Avengers could handle the attack. But what about all the casualties? All those innocent people stolen away from their families. He couldn’t be the cause of that, not again. He had to shake off the title of ‘Merchant of Death’ and if this was the price he would pay it.

They threw him back into his original cell, where he laid, shivering, bloodied and broken. He wasn’t able to cry. It was as though his tears had been frozen, or maybe it wasn’t worth it anymore. Of course there was that tiny sliver of hope that remained with him. That lingering hope that told him he could make it through, that his friends would come and help him. 

The next few days destroyed that hope. Not just destroyed but completely obliterated it. Pulverized it. The pain had become too much. At this point he just wanted to die, give up everything. The only reason he had lived through all the torture was because of the arc reactor. It kept his heart running. It could keep it running for 50 life times. 

One night in the prison, he decided he was going to build the portal, or attempt to. The guys, they would understand right? They would understand that he needed to get out of this right? Then that voice inside his head came back to haunt him, to tell him he was once again being a selfish bastard. Soon other thoughts piled on. What if he did make it through? How could he get past this? He hadn’t even moved on entirely from Afghanistan. Surely his miserable life would only continue its spiral down into an abyss of nightmares, hatred and self deprecation. No, he wouldn’t build that portal, and no he wouldn’t continue suffering.  
They say suicide is for the weak, for those who are cowards, but right now it proved courage.

One of them walked into the prison to find Tony’s lifeless body on the ice floor, lying sideways. “DAMN!” Anger washed over him, he never wanted him to die, just wanted to break him. His lifeless body was mutilated, bruised, burned, and broken. One of his hands covered the gaping hole in his chest; the other remained next to him, unmoving. Tony’s expression wasn’t pained or full of fear. It was strangely peaceful, as though finally he could rest, finally stop fighting, and not just this, but his past. Next to him lay the arc reactor, still brightly lit. He had taken it out; let the shrapnel pierce his heart. Finally after so many tries, death had caught up to him.

**Author's Note:**

> I am sorry for writing this. I was in a dark place- okay no I just had a lot of feels when I wrote this. It kinda sucks because I wrote it like at 3 in the morning. Please don't hate me. I HAVE PUT ALL THE WARNINGS SO DON'T FUCKING GIVE ME YOUR SHIT. Thank you. Enjoy.


End file.
